Monday Bolts – 4.15.13

Ben Golliver of SI.com gives OKC an A+ for the season: “The Thunder do it on both ends despite their reputation as an offense-first machine, ranking No. 2 in offensive efficiency and No. 4 in defensive efficiency. They do it at home (fourth-best record) and on the road (second-best record). They’ve been doing it so well for so long that seemingly every two-game losing streak sets off alarm bells because, frankly, we’ve all been spoiled. The chief spoiler is Kevin Durant, who has maintained his 50/40/90 shooting into the season’s final week. In a world without LeBron James, he would be the clear king. If you had to bet your life on one team’s being capable of dethroning Miami, it would be the Thunder — despite the one-sided 2012 Finals and the Harden trade. They’re that talented, aggressive, fine-tuned, deep, big, long and just that good.”

David Thorpe of ESPN Insider says Jeremy Lamb should study Tony Allen: “Lamb is uniquely talented with super-long arms and a beautifully smooth jump shot. Allen is a whirling dervish of a player who injects energy into his team and makes countless plays that don’t show up in the box score but help his team win. Lamb has the chops to hang in the league for a long time as a pure shooter, but if he wants to be a significant player he’ll have to learn how to contribute in ways beyond being a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s unlikely to ever be the kind of leader Allen has become by playing hard, but moving in that direction would be a good place to start.”

Danny Chau in an ESPN.com 5-on-5 picking All-NBA teams has Westbrook in: “He is, in a word, undeniable. Say what you will about his recklessness or his lack of polish as a facilitator, but his inhuman intensity is a modern marvel. More often than not, it’s an overwhelming positive. His game is unnatural and, at times, incomprehensible. And it’s why he’s one of the league’s very best.”

Tim Grover, who was MJ’s trainer, spoke to Ben Golliver of SI.com said KD reminds him of Jordan: “He does, he does have that same personality [as Jordan, Wade and Bryant]. I’m sure he is the factor that is pushing LeBron to continue to go to a higher level. LeBron knows that this young kid is on his heels, from a physical and mental standpoint. Kevin is very, very special and has a chance to really surpass anybody else that’s playing in there right now, and the No. 1 guy to pass from a skills standpoint would be LeBron.”

Marc Stein of ESPN.com on MVP: “Easiest. Ballot. Ever. I suspect that LeBron won’t be a unanimous selection for Most Valuable Player because A) there’s never been a unanimous MVP in the NBA and B) there’s bound to be at least one voter, presumably based in the 405 area code, who won’t be able to bring themselves to vote against poor Kevin Durant. But there might never been an easier choice in this space than James For MVP in 2013, which, yet again, is saying something when you saunter over to Box 3 and reacquaint yourself with some of the stuff Durant has done since Halloween. KD’s problem? LeBron came back from last season’s breakthrough championship with the Heat, followed by Olympic gold with Team USA, with the very vengeance Miami prez Pat Riley warned us about. No longer burdened by past failings and unwavering in his confidence, James has merely uncorked the most across-the-board statistically dominant campaign witnessed since Michael Jordan’s 1988-89 masterpiece.”

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com on Coach of the Year: “If we’re talking about the 2012-13 Coach of the Year. Otherwise I’d make a stronger push for Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, who came up with a way to stop the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s playoffs right when they were looking unstoppable. Brooks has a pretty strong argument from this season as well. Despite the jarring trade of James Harden, the Thunder are winning at a higher rate and still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the West. Only it’s not as impressive as the job Hollins is doing in Memphis. The Grizzlies traded their top scorer in the middle of the season and kept on winning. Brooks has the guy who led the league in scoring for most of the season, Kevin Durant, providing points.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on MVP: “Durant’s impact has been MVP worthy. He’s the most efficient scorer in basketball, and his excellence is expressed without forcing shots or possessions. He’s become an even better defender, headed towards excellent, and remains a more impactful rebounder than he’s given credit for. He’s a better leader this season and raised his game in the absence of James Harden as both a scorer and distributor. He would be a great MVP at the ripe old age of 24… If it weren’t for LeBron James.”

"This is not the hoary chestnut about the MVP being the best player on the best team -- even though that describes James, and the Heat. James is the best player on any team, and among any grouping of carbon-based life forms. He is so good and dominant using words like "good" and "dominant" seem small and pithy."

Jeremey lamb could be like Allen a lot. He'll no nothing like tony Allen but a ray Allen jr. I or did he make a typo amd ment to say ray allen. don't see much similarity between tony Allen and lamb. Lamb and ray Allen is more like it. Both have a textbook shot

@AlexR44 I really enjoyed the piece. As a younger brother myself, I know all too well how much it pushes you to be better. But also, just how much more you can learn when you have a goal and can get experience at a higher stage early. It always seemed to be the case in wrestling, but the oldest brothers never seemed to be the best, it was the youngest, the one that got beat up all the time and had to learn how to be smarter, quicker, or use leverage more effectively. I don't think I beat my older brother head-to-head in any sports until college, but I was a lot better a lot younger. If he made won regionals as a junior, I won as a freshman or sophomore. If he placed in states as a senior, I had to place in nationals.

And there's always a transition after the big brother moves on. Suddenly setting your own goals only for yourself, finding out you have rivals and supporters you never considered before. It's not always easy, but you come out the other side better than you ever thought you could be.

@Oklahoma City Thunder I think the comparison comes more from what Lamb actually has a chance to become. His physical talents and length could make him a great defender. At the moment his textbook shot does not lead to him being a great shooter, so it doesn't make much sense to compare such an average shooter to an all-time great shooter.

@Fezzy@AlexR44 Burke played his best ball in the championship game. I can't see him falling out of the top 10 in this weak of a draft.

I also just don't like the idea of trading back for the Thunder. We have no minutes for last year's rookies. We may not have minutes for this year's rookies with only two picks. Three more players added to the mix sounds good in theory, but not if they never play. If the Toronto pick ends up 10th, I would rather use our other picks to trade up for someone we like than trade down for guys who would never play.

@bmuelle22@OBoy It's a chick and egg situation. Before Boston won the title, did anyone think Doc was a great coach? But at the same time, Doc didn't torpedo the team. Was Phil Jackson really this unstoppable championship machine before he met up with Jordan and Pippen? Has he ever won the championship without multiple hall-of famers on the team?

The fact is, talent goes a long way in the NBA. Coaches matter, for sure. But, you're not going to win it all without enough on both sides. We have a whole lot of talent, enough to win it all. We also have a coach who has been there and helped the players get to the Finals. You can say Brooks dropped the ball on lineups in the finals, but you can also point to really important players (Harden, Ibaka) who dropped the ball all series. Which lost the finals? Which will actually change in the future? Brooks is capable of being a championship coach because he has championship caliber players. We have a championship caliber team because our coach has our players doing what they need to do.

@bmuelle22@OBoy At this point I think Brooks is great at developing players, he's yet to prove if he has what it takes to be a head coach on a championship team, but I don't think that he's proved that he's not.

@Oklahoma City Thunder My fear is that Lamb thinks his goal should be as a big time scorer. He's simply not efficient enough for that, and he'll NEVER be a good enough scorer to take the shots he wants away from Russ or KD. From a pure mentality standpoint, I would love for him to emulate Allen. Allen doesn't take shots unless he has to or is wide open. He is always engaged and is always in position. That's the kind of mentality Lamb needs. He doesn't need to think he's this great shooter when he's just not there yet offensively.

@Oklahoma City Thunder But why? Lamb has NEVER been a great outside shooter. He was average to below average in college. He's been entirely average in the D-League. If he wants to play for the Thunder, it's not going to be on the strength of his offense (which we are not lacking). Becoming a lockdown defender is going to make a much more significant improvement in his game. We can find minutes for a defender that can hit some shots. But an above average (not great, wouldn't expect that is one summer) shooter who doesn't defend? He would never get on the floor.

@PerkSmile@Keith00@Oklahoma City Thunder That's true, but I don't want to say teammates don't matter. KD leads our team in rebounding, but probably wouldn't if we had good rebounders at PF or C. KD has great reach, and is one of the best in the league in his area, but he doesn't really work hard consistently to hit the boards. Lamb certainly shows that he should be a good rebounder for his position, but the difference between a great Thabo-esque rebounder and a mediocre Afflalo-esque rebounder could have a lot to do with teammates.

@PerkSmile@Keith00@Oklahoma City Thunder Same here, though I don't know enough about the full roster to make a call there. I mean, he has go-go-gadget arms and is athletic, so it makes sense he can rebound his area. But, is the Tulsa team any good at rebounding in the frontcourt? Good defenders tend to stick around the boards and end opposing possessions. Thabo is a great rebounder for the position too.